Bloom
by ray-boo
Summary: Due to a turn of events, Sakura gets inhabited with the Nine Tales. With a newfound power and purpose, will she survive in these turbulent times?
1. Round 1: The Wager

Round 1: The Wager

"Team Seven will consist of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto."

The three newly crowned genin looked at each other from across the group, having their own reservations about working with each other. The girl in question sighing before feeling and intense murderous intent from her back, of course, it was Ino. The blonde steamed after hearing the Sakura was to be placed with their mutual crush.

Later that night, the girls found themselves gossiping over a sushi dinner, "You traitor! I can't believe you!" Ino whined, much to Sakura's distaste, "Ino..." She shook her head, looking at the blonde seriously, "What about a wager, then?"

Ino fixed her features immediately, intrigued, "A wager? What are the stakes?"

"If things go like this, we'll lose our friendship over that sad dreamboat, so lets do this fair and square." She folded her arms, "Winner gets exclusive Sasuke rights, and the loser can no longer even dream of pursuing him."

Ino thought pensively, taking a long drink as she considered her best friend's words. "And the game."

With a laugh, Sakura flashed a grin. "Chunin Exams rules, we brawl until the ref declares a winner. Killing is allowed."

Ino nearly spat out her drink, "What's gotten into you, Sakura! We can't fight to the death!" There was an obvious tone of fear in the blonde's voice,

"Well that's too bad. I guess, I'll have to keep Sasuke-kun all to my self" Popping a sushi into her mouth, she taunted Ino, who grit her teeth before steeling her resolve, "You're on, bastard."

"That's the spirit."

The blood pounded in my ears and my body felt like painful lead. I could probably fit two or three fingers in the bloody hole in my cheek, but I remained standing. Everything she had done to me, I had done back to her at least twofold. We locked eyes from across the field, neither of us wanting to back down, I briefly wondered why Naruto hadn't called it yet, maybe he hadn't seen enough. I briefly looked over to where our "ref" had been sitting, only to see his bloodied coat left there, abandoned. Shock ran over my face as I rationalized what had happened possibly,

"Sakura, snap out of it!" I felt something rock me across the face, and I stumbled back, blood beginning to pool in my mouth again, I spat it out on the ground before looking up at Ino's face, "They had you in a genjutsu."

"Sakura, Ino! Stay behind me!" Naruto yelled sharply, he was in the best shape of all three of us, so it made sense, I shook off my fears and stood beside him, ready to fight, I didn't plan on dying that day,

Our assailant was wearing a beige tunic, and he had ivory skin, almost purple. His eyes were a sickening yellow, smiling along with his snake-like face, "I came here for the nine-tales, and here I find him with two others, how intriguing..."

His voice was soft and melodic, but only served to increase the creepy aura that surrounded him, "Let's change your fates, shall we?" He stepped forward, and Ino launched herself at him, the man easily plucking her out of the air, and crashing her into the earth, "Silly little genin, you're powerless against me, kukukuku..."

He twitched, and my world fell into darkness...

"Wake up."A voice commanded me, and I opened my eyes, my body was covered in something wet, and I couldn't breathe, After figuring out I could stand up, my head surfaced the liquid, and I found myself face to face with gigantic cage with a single tag on the middle of them, written on it was a single word, Seal.

I charily walked up to the cage, running my hand over the paper,"Go on..."The voice rumbled and I instinctively withdrew my hand. It was then that the beast inside the cage stepped forward, looking me in the eyes. The Great Fox, the Nine Tales, Kyuubi.

**_"You had me going for a second there. I thought you were going to free me without my even having to ask."_**

"W-What are you?" I stammered, taking a step back, even though my mind had already rationalized what I was dealing with, fear overtook my limbs, and they wouldn't move the ways I wanted them to.

**_"You and I both know I don't have to answer that."_**The demon looked at me with condescendingly,**_"You're not Namikaze's spawn, are you?"_**He looked over me carefully, making sure,**_"Though I suppose pink is not far from Uzumaki's lineage."_**

"Uzu- Pft!" I chortled at the exchange, this thing thought I was dead last Naruto! Oh kami, that was rich. Stifling my laughter, and seeing that the fox was not amused, I decided to introduce myself, "I am Haruno Sakura. It's nice to meet you." All the dread I had felt before had faded away, if I could die, I would have by now.

**_"I see. Well, Haruno Sakura."_**The fox leaned forward, a mischievous grin spreading across his lips,**_"How do you feel about power?"_**


	2. Round 2: Konoha

Round 2: Konoha

**A/N:** I own nothing. This is a fanfiction,

I opened my eyes to the pure white celling of what I instantly recognized as the medical center in Konoha. So we weren't captured, then. Temporarily relieved that I didn't have to go through torture, I sat up in my bed.

Was it a dream? I couldn't be, I looked down at m hands as I checked my own chakra reserves, finding no end to them, "Guess he wasn't kissing about power, huh." I closed my fist, a smile coming to my face, as I remembered our "Deal"...

_"So You'll lend me your strength then, okay. But what do I have to do?" _

**_"If you die, I get released, and I get to destroy that pathetic village, however, I can't have the one who represents me, that's you, currently, be worthless."_**_ The fox frowned for a moment, **"I may detest you, but I detest losing far more. Use my power, and we'll conquer all in our path." **_

There's gotta be a catch. I shook my head as a nurse walked in, "Sakura-chan, you're awake." She grinned as she checked my vitals, and I did what I needed to get out of the hospital as hastily as possible. Ino and Naruto were in the lobby, and I was ambushed by the girl's arms,

"Don't you ever do that again!" Ino said, tightening her snake grip, "We were so worried! You were out for three whole days!" I blinked, looking at Naruto as Ino cried into my shoulder. The boy was looking at the ground, he looked like he hadn't eaten. "Three days? I didn't know I could sleep that much." I laughed a bit, and Ino broke free, moving to wipe her face.

"So what happened?" I asked both of them, getting a shrug from Ino, and nothing from Naruto.

"Not sure. We were fighting, and then next thing I know we all wake up here. You were out longer, so guess what that means?" Ino smiled as big as possible, and my heart hit my feet,

"You won, huh..." I cursed my body for a moment, three days? What was I doing?! I mean, besides acclimating to the demon inside of me, but I was keeping that on hush-hush for now. "Eh whatever." I shrugged, "He's yours." I gave Ino a thumbs up, "Go and get him, tiger!"

As Ino walked off, looking like she was on a cloud, I turned to Naruto, who finally met my eyes. I could see the lack of power in them, so to speak. "Naruto, are you okay?" I asked, I needed to know what he knew about the Kyu- **_"He knows nothing. No one has told him about me, yet everyone knows. I never got the chance to speak to anyone since my capture besides you. Or rather, I didn't feel like it." _**I internally rolled my eyes at the fox's pettiness.

"I'm just tired. I'm not sure why." Naruto gave a weak smile, "Kakashi-sensei wanted me to bring you to the training ground once you woke up."

I nodded and let him lead the way offering to buy him some ramen on the way, he eagerly accepted. Less enthusiastically after I imposed a 3-bowl limit on my wallet. As we were eating, he finally started looking back to normal, a little

"Ah, that always hits the spot." He proclaimed, exhaling as he brought the bowl down. "I'm never refereeing for you guys again. I almost got a concussion last time."

"Oh stop, it wasn't that bad." I joked, deciding that he was annoying, but not inherently bad. "We'll just have to go a little easier next time."

"So what's the deal, Sakura? You usually don't even give me the time of day." He pointed his chopsticks at me accusingly, and I snorted, stifling a laugh,

"Oh, so you want me to ignore you? So that's your type?" Smiling at him, I shrugged, "We're a team, real ninja. We can't have infighting in a life or death situation, you know?"

"That's true, well we should invite that _teme_ along too, next time." Naruto gave a smile from ear to ear, I wondered when was the last time someone his age was nice to him.

"Yeah, we'll bring him. For sure."

Fed and ready to go, Naruto led me to the training grounds, where a lone Sasuke stood, I looked over him for a moment, for some reason not feeling the usual set of butterflies that came with. I guess Ino meant more to me. It's for the best though. I can focus on getting stronger without having to impress him. I felt a growl of satisfaction as Kyuubi agreed.

"If you two idiots are going to be this late every day, go home. I have no time to waste on weak teammates like you." Sasuke spat out, poison dripping from his words, Naruto visibly recoiled, but I scowled right back, raising my chin a little. I would never lose again, even to Sasuke.

"I'm gonna give you one chance to say you're sorry before I turn you into a mud stain." I cracked my knuckles, glad my acting was decent. I couldn't let him walk all over me, let alone Naruto.

"Tch, I didn't expect you to have a spine, harpy. But I'm not going to apologize for speaking the truth." He stared at me, waiting for me to back down. I hated that look, like he was some god who was just automatically better than us. Pretty boy or no, it was time to bash his head in.

I geared up to go, leaping forward as my eyes turned a vibrant vermilion, I threw all my might into a single punch that would definitely-

"Whoa there, cut!" My punch was caught mid swing by a man wearing a green ninja vest, his Leaf headband covering his left eye. A shock of white hair spiking over the other side. his nose and mouth were covered, but his visible eye wawas looking at me with a bit of interest. "Now now, that's no way for a team to act." He let go of my wrist, and I shook it out, feeling my surge of power subside. So that was Kurama. I needed to master that feeling, fast. Sasuke simply huffed and turned his back to me, obviously pissed.

"I've got my work cut out for me, I suppose. The ninja introduced himself to me as Hatake Kakashi, our Jonin team leader. I bowed and gave my own,

"Sakura, you missed introductions yesterday, so I'll ask you personally." Kakashi scanned me as I straightened up, ready for whatever he had to ask, "Why did you become a ninja?"

I smirked, easy. "Because I wanted to get closer to that turd over there," I jerked my thumb towards Sasuke, refusing to meet his eyes. "I realize my mistake now."

"Okay..." Kakashi rubbed the cloth on his chin, nodding, "And what is your ninja way?"

Again, easy. I smirked, slamming my fists together, so they made in impact, "To never lose to anyone in a fight!"

**A/N: **Two uploads in one day? It must be Christmas. Please review. It motivates me to write sooner/more. It'll get better too.


	3. Round 3: Earth, Wind, and Fire

Round 3: Earth, Wind, and Fire

**A/N: **This is a fan-fiction. I own a sandwich.

"I'm home!" I yelled into the empty hall that was my home, surprisingly, I heard a voice back,

"Sakura? I'm in the kitchen. Come in here for a moment!" A feminine voice called, and I followed it to our quaint little kitchen. The counters filled with little gadgets my mother used to make meals for no one that would ever eat them. Our refrigerator was always full since dad died. I pushed the thoughts to the back of my head as I entered and sat on a high chair on the island, grabbing an apple and addressing my mother,

"You called? What can I do for you?" I made sure to take off my headband and hide it before I entered the house, knowing how my mom felt about ninja. She gave me a smile, and I found myself finding my onw features in her face, the only thing that I hadn't taken were those deep chocolate eyes of hers.

"Well, Sakura, I got an interesting visit today," She dusted her flour-coated hands on her apron, her brow furrowing a bit, "Some government ninja asked me to sign some documents saying it was okay to destroy your belongings in case you..."

"Mom." I cut her off, having no desire to see her fall into despair again. "Trust me, I've got far more power than I can even comprehend at the moment. I'll be fine." I gave a confident grin, "I'm more ready for this than I've ever been."

My mother raised an eyebrow at me, folding her arms, "Are you really Sakura? Where did all of this confidence come from?" Of course she saw through me. Just a month ago I would lock up and cry in my room after being teased about my forehead. I looked at her genuinely, nodding once,

"Then I'll leave you be. If you trust yourself that much, then I've no reason to doubt you." She smiled, reach over and ruffling my hair,

"H-Hey! You have flour on your hands!" I protested, wiping off my hair, my mother laughed,

"What, the great ninja Sakura can't handle a little flour?" She walked around the counter and sat down next to me, "Promise me something, flower?"

"Depends on if I can make it happen," I teased back, earning a stern look,

"I'm serious. No matter what happens, come home if you feel like it's too much, okay?" She had concern in her eyes, and I couldn't help but provide an earnest reply.

"Of course." I closed my eyes, letting myself lean onto her shoulder, "We're all we've got. I'll always come home."

"Today, we'll be talking about Ninjutsu." Kakashi had us all sitting down in a field, as he explained how the basics of Ninjutsu worked, and I soaked it up as best I could, the concept seemed simple enough, but 'chakra control' seemed to be an important key into getting it done right. he passed us papers that would determine out element when we pushed chakra into it. Mine crumbled in my hands. Earth.

I looked at the others, Sasuke having a flaming ash in his hand and Naruto's being split perfectly down the middle. Fire and wind. It looks like we've got a good range ove abilities, seeing as Kakashi sensei was lightning. After the lecture, we were to spar a little bit, mainly so Kakashi could see what we were made of. It was the first battle-oriented thing we've done as a team, so needless to say, I was a little pumped. That was until Kakashi was about to assign the partners,

"I want her." Sasuke interrupted, breaking his cool demeanor for a moment, Kakashi nodded, waving his hand,

"I'll train with Naruto, then. Be careful."

After the other two broke off, I stood up to face Sasuke, meeting his eyes, I couldn't quite read his expression, it wasn't the apathetic one he commonly wore. It'd be useless to try to figure out what it meant. I decided to focus on using this fight to make him believe I was a worthy teammate. Besides, I've been itching to slam that pretty boy face into the dirt for some time now.

"Sakura." Sasuke called out to me as I was getting prepared to fight by jumping a little bit,

"Yes, Sasuke?" I idly replied, dropping into a battle stance,

"Try not to bore me too much." He gave a snarky reply meant to cut me down, but I paid it no mind, wasting no time to close the distance between us and strike. The Uchiha was slow, who knew? I buried my elbow into his solar plexus, making the boy double over, after savoring that shocked look on his face, I grabbed him and slammed him into the ground, reveling in the over satisfying sound of his body hitting the floor.

"Bored huh, you're already taking a nap." I lifted myself up, walking to recreate that distance from before. Kicking someone while they were down didn't sit well with me. I looked over my shoulder at the boy getting to his feet. His face clearly upset at his calculations being incorrect. I smirked as I readied up again, I planned to hold out on using the Kyuubi until he impressed me. I quickly counseled with him to make sure it was okay,

**_"I have nothing against you being powerful on your own. Just do not lose." _**

Sasuke seemed ready to go again, he rushed at me and I met him halfway. He clearly had more Taijutsu prowess than I, but the hits I got in, I made them count, He threw a wild fist, frustrated that I was still standing, I bobbed to the side flashing him a grin. This was the most fun I've had in a while, "What's the matter Uchiha? You don't seem to be doing too well."

He growled in response, jumping up and flipping hand signs, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" I barely had time to cross my arms before the intense heat of flames cracked down upon me, however, it didn't hurt nearly as much as it should have. Definitely a boon. A devilish grin creeped onto my face as I used the situation to my advantage. Tapping into the Fox's power, I jumped up into the air, wrapped in Sasuke's flames,

"Death from above: Diable Jambe Concasse!" I used one of my mother's recipe names, cause it sounded cool at the time. I spun rapidly as I descended, only to crack my heel down onto Sasuke's skull, sending him plummeting down to earth in a fiery mess. I Landed on my feet, the chakra dissipating as I looked at Sasuke's defeated form. "I told you. I'll never lose in a fight. "

Kakashi walked up then, looking at the result, if he was surprised, he didn't show it. Maybe he had seen the whole thing. He made sure Sasuke was okay before looking at me, "He's alive, just unconscious. You don't pull your punches. That's a good quality to have, sometimes." He stood, looking over at himself still 'fighting' with Naruto. Ah, it was a clone. "Go ahead and take him to medical, okay?" I accepted the quest, picking up Sasuke and draping him over my shoulder, "Oh, and see me after you're done, okay?"

After saying my goodbye, I walked through the village, making sure to take the roads where everyone could see me carrying the boy. I felt like a hunter showing off a huge kill. The boy awakened just outside of the hospital, and I set him on his feet, letting him wobble onto my shoulder, "Whoa there tiger. Take it easy,"

He must have realized his current situation pretty quickly, because he just grunted in distaste as he walked inside with me, "Sakura, when did you get so strong?" He asked, his voice surprisingly even, "You were a weakling not too long ago."

"I train too, idiot." I scoffed, setting him down in a chair and sitting down next to him, "Not everyone is weak, least of all me." I said pridefully deciding then to get serious about training for real. I can't just let Kyuubi do all the work.

"I see." He closed his eyes, "I need to get stronger, and if you're that good, I need to pick up my pace." He shook his head, and I raised an eyebrow, this guy must have some serious baggage,

"Well we can do so together. We're a team, you, me and Naruto. Don't look down on us, okay?" I playfully punched his arm, and he winced, I suppose I did go overboard a little.

"Fine, I'll play nice to you and the _dobe_." He smiled a little, and looked me in the eyes, I could see in his hunger, and just a little bit of madness, "But just so you know, you're on my list of people to beat one day."

"Ha! Good luck with that one, Uchiha."

**A/N: **Please review, I feed on them. Stay Bad.


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